Category Archives: Newport

On February 28th at about 9:41 AM, deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to a criminal mischief complaint located near the 1300 block of SW Seawoods Terrace in Waldport. The victim reported that somebody had damaged her vehicle, damaged the porch light, and stolen property from her vehicle. A report was filed pending further suspect information. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at over $1,000.

On March 1, 2015 deputies followed a lead with possible suspects near the 1300 block of SW Corona Ct. in Waldport. An investigation revealed Joseph A. Montes, 19 years of age, of Waldport. Jacob Gasik, 19 years of age, of Newport and Thomas Lanier, 19 years of age, of Newport damaged the victim’s vehicle and stole her property during the early morning hours of February 28th.

Lanier was arrested and lodged at the Lincoln County Jail on one count of Criminal Mischief I, one count of Unlawful entry into a motor vehicle, and one count of Theft III. Lanier’s bail was set at $75,500.

Gasik was arrested and lodged at the Lincoln County Jail. Gasik was charged with one count of Criminal Mischief I. Gasik’s bail was set at $50,000.

Montes was charged with one count of Criminal Mischief I, one count of Unlwaful entry into a motro vehicle, and one count of Theft III. Montes was cited and realesed on March 2, 2015.

Now that the Port of Newport’s international terminal project is completed and the Port is looking for new business. The dredging is done, the rip rap is in place and the mitigation work has also been completed. All the in water work is also finished and the Port is now open for business. The port of Newport commission has charged general manager Kevin Greenwood with finding some business to help bring in the money for the port to pay off the loans incurred during the construction of the project. Greenwood told the port commission last week he is starting the marketing process.

“Hanjin announced they are pulling out of the Port of Portland. We are looking at the markets in Central and Southern Oregon that are basically going to have to truck to either Sea Tac in Seattle or down to San Francisco. There is an opportunity for onions, alfalfa and products like that, that could be shipped out.” The port is now looking elsewhere for use of the terminal since Teevin Bros has not been able to come in as was originally planned. The Port stood to earn up to $100,000 in moorage and other fees from every log freighter that tied up at the terminal.

Teevin has said they still plan on coming in just not on the scale that was originally planned. It is also unknown when they would be able to get set up. The port took out about $10 million in loans above the $15 million dollar bond levy approved by voters to complete the terminal. Greenwood has also approached several small businesses who export to Japan and Korea, but said they are much smaller operations than what Teevin envisioned. Another potential client is Mary’s River Lumber near Philomath.

Volunteers placed 175 discarded Christmas trees in the Yaquina River on Feb. 22 to provide young salmonids cover from cormorants and other predators. (Photo by Larry Coonrod)

TOLEDO—Volunteers brought Christmas to juvenile salmon in the Yaquina River last weekend, and hopefully better fishing for everyone in a few years. Seventeen volunteers with U DA MAN Fishing Tournament and the Longview Hills Fishing Club, Central Coast Fly Fishers and students from Newport High School strategically placed 175 recycled Christmas trees back into the river, Mill Creek and several feeder streams.

“The purpose of this is to provide habitat cover for chinook, coho and steelhead smolt as they make their way downriver,” said Tom Simpson with U DA MAN. “We are particularly concerned about the predation by cormorants and other predators on the tiny smolt. We’re trying to give them a spot where they can hide and feed for a few more days and gain some more energy and continue on down toward the Pacific.”

The Look-Out on Cape Foulweather in Lincoln County is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1937, it is improbably perched on a knobby promontory on the jagged south flank of Cape Foulweather, 453 feet above the Pacific Ocean. This secondary headland is commonly known as Otter Crest, a name also appropriated by Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for the adjacent State Scenic Viewpoint.

The Look-Out was built and operated by Wilbur “Buck” and Anna Badley. The business began briefly as the Foulweather Coffee Shop, but soon shifted into a very successful gift shop when the Badleys realized people were most interested in purchasing souvenirs of their visit to the coast. Upon the completion of the Roosevelt Coast Military Highway (U.S. 101) in 1932 and associated bridges in 1936, tourists could more easily travel and visit sites along the Pacific Ocean. The Look-Out is an excellent example of an isolated entrepreneurial venture along the central coast that capitalized on the public investment based upon the urging and support of the citizens of Oregon. Continue reading →

On February 20, 2015, Lincoln City Police Officer Tokata Cameron Tehama graduated from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Basic Police Academy, Class 347. Officer Tehama graduated along with his entire class of thirty-nine student officers. The Academy was sixteen weeks in length.

Generally a graduation ceremony marks the end of an educational experience. Officer Tehama returned to Lincoln City Police on Tuesday February 24th where he will continue to build upon the foundational training received at the Academy. Officer Tehama will continue his basic training and complete the Field Training Evaluation Program (FTEP) which he started prior to leaving for the academy. The FTEP program consists of teaching, coaching, and mentoring by various experienced officers who are Field Training Officers.

Chief Kilian states, “I am very proud of Officer Tehama and his successful efforts during his Basic Academy training”. He further states, “We are very excited as Officer Tehama returns to Lincoln City and completes his initial training. He will be an asset to the agency and to the community”.

In January two researchers from Japan joined us to check out some potential sites for a marine debris monitoring project on the Oregon coast! The NOAA Marine Debris Program through a collaboration with PICES (North Pacific Marine Science Organization), reached out to the Surfrider Foundation in Oregon back in October to help support this really cool webcam project – developed by a Japanese researcher to help better monitor marine debris on our coast.

Naturally, the project was really appealing to us given all of the data that we collect on marine debris is generally on the hard backs of volunteers following a beach cleanup. The idea of collecting marine data from a webcam that can snap pictures multiple times a day, for up to 2 years and distinguish debris based on highly-sophisticated cameras and software was really exciting. Japanese researcher Isobe Atsuhiko’s project is to better understand the viability of using a webcam to detect shoreline debris, based on the color of man made versus natural debris. Continue reading →

Solstice, a distressed sea turtle that was rescued and then successfully treated by the Oregon Coast Aquarium and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), is heading back to warmer waters. Swimming is a turtle’s regular mode of transportation, but swimming in cold, Northwest waters is what caused trouble for Solstice in the first place. Instead, the U.S. Coast Guard stepped up and will airlift the turtle to southern California during a C-130 Hercules training mission on February 24.

The endangered olive ridley sea turtle was found comatose, hypothermic and malnourished in December. “The Oregon Coast Aquarium provided Solstice urgent care and worked for the past few months to stabilize her so that she would be healthy enough for transport to a facility closer to her natural range,” said Jim Burke, the Aquarium’s Director of Animal Husbandry. “We are glad these efforts were successful, and may have a positive impact on the future of this endangered species in the wild.”

After Solstice leaves Newport, she will complete her rehabilitation at SeaWorld San Diego in preparation for release later this summer. This turtle was saved thanks to conscientious members of the public. Because they immediately alerted authorities, Solstice was quickly transported to the Aquarium where specialized equipment and expertise provided the sea turtle critical care. At least five other sea turtles succumbed to the elements and stranded on Oregon and Washington beaches this winter. Rapid response is the only hope of returning these large endangered animals to health. Continue reading →